Quilting progress...or not...

June 24, 2019

At the beginning of this year, I set a goal to complete twelve sewing projects this year. The other part of this goal was to not go out and purchase anything new, just use patterns and fabric that I already have at home.

It is a little embarrassing how much fabric I have purchased over the years. And how many unfinished projects I have…

Like this one…

Yes, I started this quilt in 2003. My daughter was three years old and I was hoping to make a quilt for her.

Fast forward to 2019, I guess it is time to finish this project!

Originally, I decided to make nine of these quilt blocks to make a larger size quilt.

Over the last couple of weeks, I cut out more squares, sewed pieces together, and eventually finished all nine squares.

Then I searched through my fabric stash and found a darker purple to use for the sashing…

Things were coming together quite nicely.

But then, I just wasn’t happy with how large the quilt was going to end up. So…

…out came the seam ripper.

Rather than making one larger quilt, I decided to change things up and make two smaller quilts.

I still have a bit of work to finish up both of the quilt tops, but I am happy I decided to go this route rather than one larger quilt.

So, my quilting friends, have you ever changed things up like this mid-project?

Tackle It on Tuesday: Grandmother's Garden

April 1, 2014

So last week I shared with you about my long lost Grandmother's Garden quilting project that was just begging to be completed. I was hoping to get a little further along with it than I did, but I am happy with the progress I made on it.

Progress on my Grandmother's Garden quilt project

There is still a bit of work to be done, so once I finish it, I will try to remember to post a picture of the finished project.

This week, when I was making my menu for the week, I decided to add a couple of recipes from one of my Pinterest boards. Tonight we are going to try 5-ingredient Bacon Asparagus Pasta, Thursday night is Pan Roasted Lemon Chicken, and because we have some cooler weather this week, time to do a little baking and try this Coconut Cream Bundt Cake. Three new recipes seems like a lot for one week, but we are finally moving into a more normal schedule around here which gives me a little more time in the kitchen. And I love to try new recipes anyway!

Be sure to check back next week to see if these recipes are going to make it onto my Pinned it, tried it...it's a keeper board.

Tackle It on Tuesday: Craft Room Clutter

March 25, 2014

Last week, I shared with you that I was determined to tackle the clutter that had taken over the floor in my craft room:

It is almost embarrassing to show a picture like this from my home, but you know what? We live in our home. It is not a museum, it is not a model home. People live here, and people make messes. And yes, this mess was created by me! There are times when the messes in my home really drive me nuts. But I would rather focus on the relationships with the people in my home than spend a lot of time worrying about the messes in my home.

But I am happy to say, that with not a lot of effort or time, I can now see the floor in my craft room!

One thing that usually happens when I go through a decluttering process like this, I find long lost projects that are just waiting to be finished. This is one of the reasons I started these Tackle It on Tuesday posts.

Some time ago, I started working on an English Paper Piecing project called Grandmother's Flower Garden. When we were going to a lot of Civil War Reenacting events through the year, I loved having projects like this that were portable and could be picked up and worked on between events. Although the Grandmother's Flower Garden pattern is not authentic to the Civil War time period, the art of pieced hexagon quilting goes back to the 18th century.

So why am I telling you all of this? Well, here is what I found this week:

Now, if I were making a full quilt with this method, I would be a very long way from being finished! But if I just finish the blue border, then maybe attach this to a square of muslin or other material to be used as a table topper at our Civil War events, I just might be really close to finishing this project. So, that is my Tackle It on Tuesday project for this week!

What project are you working on this week?

Capture Your 365

May 22, 2013

Time for another week of photos to share with you from the Capture Your 365 photo challenge!

ISO 200, 60mm, f/4.5, 1/200 sec

Day 131 – A New Focus On Me: Most definitely not one I will be printing out to hang on my wall, but this was a fun one to do with a reflection of me in the glass surrounding the bobcat at the San Francisco Zoo. Do you see him up in the top left corner?

ISO 100, 50mm, f/4.5, 1/20 sec

Day 132 – A Mother’s Gift: my 2 kids, they are such a blessing to me!

ISO 100, 50mm, f/4.5, 1/4 sec

Day 135 – Be Active: So I am out on my walk one day last week and I pass by the house with the amazing garden growing in their front yard (yes, you read that correctly. They have their whole front yard filled with a vegetable garden!). The owner of the house is out front talking to another neighbor and I mention to her that I love her yard. She asks me if I would like some Swiss chard. I don’t believe I have ever had Swiss chard before, so I accept her offer. I had enough Swiss chard to share with two friends, plus enough for us to try with dinner that night. I was able to cut it all up, but Kelsey ended up cooking it for me. After cooking it in some olive oil and garlic, we all decided it had a spinach-like texture and wasn’t too bad.

ISO 100, 50mm, f/4.5, 1/4 sec

Day 136 – Peaceful Moment: This is one of the two quilts I needed to finish for the quilt raffle I am doing to earn money for my Compassion trip to Mexico. I poured myself a glass of iced coffee, put in season one of Downton Abbey, and started hand stitching the binding. Some people might consider this work, but I really enjoy the simplicity of hand work like this.

ISO 100, 32mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec

Day 137 – Walk: Kelsey and one of her friends spent a lot of time in our backyard ‘decorating’ our brick walkway, What all do you see in the picture?

Are you participating in the Capture Your 365 challenge yet? Let me know in the comments so I can see your photos!